Thanks for the review J.P. You have summed up what I have been reading on other sites about the concerts to date. I am looking forward to seeing them this summer. What else would you expect from RUSH but perfection?

Awsome.. can't wait to see them in September in Ottawa. I have seen them about 7 times and they always deliver the goods. My only issue with the last 2 concerts was the sound, from where I was it did not sound good at all.. I had a hard time identifying which song was playing at times, and I know all of their songs really well. I'm hoping for a better sound experience this time around.

Well, I'm going out to Scranton, Pa. to see the boys on Friday night. This will be my first RUSH show. I've been listening to them for a long time with some interest, but frankly I was more into YES, ELP, GENESIS, etc. However, my interest really got "peeked" after reading Neil Peart's book "Roadshow" a couple of months ago. As great a drummer as he is, he may even be a better writer, and an incredibly interesting person. I really like people that reach great heights of fame but don't let it go to their heads (and a fellow two wheeler as well). I thoroughly enjoyed the book. "Snakes & Arrows" looks (I mean sounds) like a winner too. Haven't been to a show in quite some time so I'm really looking forward to it.

Quote:As great a drummer as he is, he may even be a better writer, and an incredibly interesting person.

He certainly is. He's apparently rebounded OK from the deaths of his wife and daughter a few years ago. I think he is remarried, as he dedicates his work to a lady whose name escapes me.

I was wondering how he would look/appear at the concert. As usual, he was pretty stoic. Sometimes in the past, though, he'd smile and joke back behind the kit, but I didn't see a single smile this year. Then, after the encore was over, he got up, waved for 1-2 seconds, then quickly jogged off stage. "Exit Stage Left" indeed! He was out of there before Alex or Geddy had moved. Maybe I read too much into things. Maybe he's got a hot new wife backstage.

I forgot to post how impressed I was with the amount of original video there was at this show. In addition to the usual backgrounds playing through the songs, there was a lot of new animated content, and two nice short films introducing each set. Funny stuff. And in addition to the South Park kids, some famous hosers from back in the day introduced "The Larger Bowl". Rush certainly pulled out all of the stops for this one.

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"The Universe is the game of the self, which plays hide and seek forever and ever" - Alan Watts

He likes to get away from a venue immediately so they can get on the road with the bus and on to the spot where they'll rest for the night. He has trouble sleeping on the bus while it's moving. By 8 O'clock the next morning he's on his motorcycle and heading towards the next concert site.

As far as his serious approach, I think he's a real perfectionist, especially about his drumming. He rehearses to get ready for rehearsals (that's pretty serious). I guess that's what makes him one of the world's greatest drummers. Plus I think he'd be the first to admit that he doesn't like touring very much. He enjoys performing, but the road wears him out. He does get a lot of great motorcycling in however.

Touring must be a real grind especially when Rush is playing 3 hour shows. I couldn't imagine having to play all those songs every second night. I read somewhere about Neil Peart explaining the conditioning process leading up to the tour. They start rehearsing a few songs and slowly work up to the full set. So, in reality they are actually playing the full show at rehearsal to build up their stamina!